T20 World Cup: Pakistan score 159/8 against India; Arshdeep shines
Pakistan racked up 159/8 against India in the high-octane ICC T20 World Cup Super 12 clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Indian seamer Arshdeep Singh destroyed Pakistan's top order, while Hardik Pandya dented their middle order. However, half-centuries from Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood helped Pakistan find the plot. India eye their 13th win against Pakistan in ICC World Cups.
Arshdeep uproots Pakistan's power-players
India had a magical start after skipper Rohit Sharma elected to field. Pacers Arshdeep and Bhuvneshwar Kumar outfoxed the batters with vicious swing. The former got rid of Pakistan captain Babar Azam (0) on his first ball of the match. Arshdeep set up Mohammad Rizwan (1) in his next over. Pakistan managed 32/2 in the Powerplay.
A wicket off the first ball!
Arshdeep delivered one of the best balls of his career on his T20 World Cup debut. The left-arm seamer uprooted Babar on his very first delivery of the ICC tournament, a ferocious in-swinger. He is the second Indian to take a wicket off the first ball in the T20 WC. Former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha was the first to do so (vs BAN, 2009).
Unwanted numbers for Babar and Rizwan
As per Cricbuzz, this is the third time in 49 T20Is since 2021 that both Babar and Rizwan have been dismissed in single figures. Notably, Shan Masood went on to score over 50 on the previous two occasions. And, the story continues!
A valuable hand by Iftikhar Ahmed
Iftikhar Ahmed and Masood steadied the ship after Pakistan were reduced to 15/2. They shared a 76-run stand for the third wicket. The former slammed his second half-century in T20I cricket. Iftikhar counter-attacked with four maximums, which helped Pakistan gain momentum. He attacked R Ashwin and Axar Patel in the middle overs. Mohammed Shami dismissed Ahmed in the 13th over.
Pandya, the bowler shines again!
India bounced back after the dismissal of Iftikhar. All-rounder Hardik Pandya got rid of both Shadab Khan and Haider Ali in the very next over. Pandya also dismissed Mohammad Nawaz on his penultimate ball of the match. Once again, Pandya, the bowler shone when it mattered the most. He registered brilliant figures of 3/30 in four overs.
Masood, Shaheen Afridi, Harris Rauf add finishing touch!
If Iftikhar's fifty lifted the spirits of Pakistan, a defiant knock by Masood gave them a solid finish. The top-order batter slammed his third half-century in T20I cricket. Later, Shaheen Afridi and Harris Rauf also joined the party, chipping in with precious strikes.
A look at other notable numbers
Arshdeep has become the first bowler to dismiss both Pakistan openers (Babar and Rizwan) on single digit scores in the same innings. He is just the second bowler to dismiss Babar for a first-ball duck in T20Is. This was Babar's fifth duck in the format, the most by a Pakistan captain. He overtook Shahid Afridi on the list (4).
